


Miscalculation

by Tualha



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Gem War, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-19
Updated: 2019-07-19
Packaged: 2020-07-08 21:55:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19876687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tualha/pseuds/Tualha
Summary: Garnet gives Pearl some shocking news.





	Miscalculation

**Author's Note:**

> If you haven’t seen **all** of Season 3, **don’t read this yet** ; there’s a major spoiler.

Pearl made her way quietly through the rain forest, looking around nervously, watching the sky. Her hands caressed the item she was holding. She should really be keeping it inside her gem — it would be a disaster if anyone saw it — but she enjoyed holding it.

Hearing faint but rapid footsteps in the distance, she hurriedly popped it into her gem. Nothing to see here. A few minutes later, she spied Garnet running toward her.

“Pearl! Finally! Where’s Rose?”

“Garnet? I haven’t seen Rose since I left this morning. Wasn’t she with all of you back at the temple?”

“No, she left hours ago. We have to find her, right away!”

“Why, what’s happened?” She’d never seen Garnet so upset.

“Haven’t you heard?! There are rumours flying all over the place!”

“I haven’t heard anything, I’ve been out here half the day. Rose sent me to bring back a machine we buried out here a couple of centuries ago. What rumors?”

“Rumours that Rose _shattered_ Pink Diamond!”

Pearl’s hand flew to her mouth. Garnet stared at her. “You didn’t know?”

Pearl shook her head. “Why … that’s wonderful news! The war’s finally over!”

Garnet dismissed her visor, staring at her with three incredulous eyes. “Are you _insane_? The Diamonds will be enraged when they hear! Homeworld’s going to attack in force! They’ll go all out! I see dozens of ships landing hundreds of soldiers, less than two months from now — citrines, quartzes, hessonites — _everything_! We’ve got to prepare! We need Rose, where on Earth could she be?”

Pearl felt her jaw drop, her eyes widen. Her hand flew to her mouth again. “Oh my stars. Are you sure?”

“ _Yes!_ I can’t see how the fight will turn out but the attack is rock solid, it’s in _every_ future. _It is going to happen._ ” She clutched her head. “What was Rose _thinking_?! She should have asked me, I could have told her this would happen, even _without_ future vision! Sapphire knew Blue Diamond well, she was a valued member of the Blue Court. Blue Diamond will _never_ sit still for this! She _loved_ Pink Diamond!”

Pearl stood still, shaken to the core, staring as Garnet stamped her foot. “Arrgh! Come on, help me find Rose before _they_ do! Every Homeworld Gem on the planet must be hunting for her now!”

“What … what does your future vision show you?”

Garnet clutched her head again. “It’s showing me _everything_! I see Rose in ten hours, two days, one day, never again. They capture her and bring her back to Homeworld. They shatter her right here on Earth. She leads us to victory, she goes down in a hopeless last stand. I see a bright light and everything goes blank. I see … bizarre creatures with gems?” She shook her head. “Hopeless, it’s just totally chaotic, can’t make head or tail of it.”

Pearl tried to get herself under control. “Yes, you’re right, we need Rose. Let’s go and — no! If the Homeworld Gems are hunting for her, we need to lead them off. Garnet! Go back to the Crystal Gems and organize an attack, right away! If all the Homeworld Gems are hunting for Rose, we need to poof and bubble them as fast as we can, _before they find her_. If they find her before we do, we’re all dead. You go organize the attack while I look for Rose. I can think of three … no, four places she might be hiding, places no one else knows about.”

Garnet nodded slowly. “Right, that sounds like a plan. Bring her to the temple when you — no. Not the temple. They’ll be watching it, it’s the obvious rendezvous point.” She stood thinking for a moment. “Bring her to Bismuth’s forge. They’ve never attacked us there, I don’t think they know about it.” She looked up, gazing into space. “Yes, that works. I see you both arriving there, it’s not clear when, but no one attacks us there.”

Pearl gave a sharp nod. “See you at the forge. Good hunting.”

“You too. Pearl — be careful.” Garnet gave her a look. “I see Rose arriving alone, in some futures. And she’s not always holding your gem.” She waved, running toward the nearest warp pad. Pearl headed off in a different direction, watching her until she was out of sight.

Then she sank to the ground, hand over her mouth. _Oh my stars. Oh my stars. What have we done?_

The Diamonds will be enraged? Blue Diamond loved Pink Diamond?

Rose hadn’t known that. She’d had no idea.

She retrieved the item from her gem, that most precious of items, and stared at it.

_How am I going to tell her?_

**Author's Note:**

> Those who have seen a certain episode will notice this story is written in a certain way to achieve a certain effect. For the sake of those who have not seen that episode, **please don’t post any spoilers, or even hints, in the comments**.


End file.
